Former New York Gov. George Pataki has disclosed that he suffers from a 9/11-related lung condition after keeping the diagnosis private for years.
Pataki, 79, who led the state from 1995 through 2006, told The Post in an exclusive interview published this week that doctors diagnosed him with restrictive airway disease within the last five years. The illness stems from his exposure to toxic dust and fine particulate matter at ground zero in lower Manhattan following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“I just look at it as I’m one of the lucky ones,” Pataki told The Post.
“You know, 25 years later, I feel great. I have this minor residual impact from that time. But compared to so many others, I consider myself very lucky,” he continued.
The former governor, who served as mayor of Peekskill in Westchester County and in the state Senate before ascending to Albany, had never publicly discussed his condition prior to this interview. He remains the last Republican to win statewide office in New York.
Pataki repeatedly redirected attention toward the first responders and public servants who worked alongside him at the World Trade Center site during the months-long recovery and rebuilding effort.
“The people who were with me at ground zero over and over for months after those attacks, many of them have serious illnesses, far more serious than anything I might be experiencing,” he said. He noted that he has not been diagnosed with any cancer related to ground zero exposure.
The revelation comes as another prominent New York Republican figure faces similar health complications from the same cause. A representative for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani confirmed that the politician, who also served as a Trump attorney, had been diagnosed with restrictive airway disease after he was hospitalized in critical condition with pneumonia earlier this year.
Medical experts have long warned that the toxic cocktail released by the collapsed Twin Towers makes common respiratory illnesses particularly dangerous for those who breathed the contaminated air. The dust contained asbestos, lead, glass fibers, and other hazardous materials that coated southern Manhattan in the aftermath of the attacks.
Pataki’s disclosure emerged just days before the 25th anniversary commemoration ceremonies at ground zero, where he is expected to join other dignitaries and family members of the nearly 3,000 victims.
The former governor also used the interview to weigh in on a brewing controversy surrounding Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s potential attendance at Friday’s ceremony. Pataki suggested Mamdani should stay away unless he condemns the antisemitic slogan “globalize the intifada,” which the American Jewish Committee says calls for rising up against Israel.
“If he says he will have nothing to do with Hasan Piker, and if he says he will condemn the statement, ‘globalize the intifada,’ then I would have no problem with him being here,” Pataki told The Post.
Mamdani, who is Muslim and a vocal critic of Israel, has previously defended use of the phrase and disagrees that it incites violence against Jews. Piker is a left-wing commentator who has praised aspects of the 9/11 attacks.
“Out of respect for those who died and out of the respect for their families and the first responders, he should make the decision not to go,” Pataki said. He added that he is not optimistic Mamdani will meet his conditions before the ceremony.
Despite the political friction, Pataki emphasized that the anniversary observance should remain free of partisan disruption.
“I think basically just ignoring his presence might be the best,” he said.
Still, he maintained that the commemoration should “go off without any disruption” and be void of politics entirely.
The attacks of September 11, 2001, occurred when Islamic terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes and crashed two into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in downtown Manhattan, causing both skyscrapers to collapse. A third plane struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, while a fourth crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back against the hijackers. The coordinated assault killed nearly 3,000 people and launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that would span decades. In the immediate aftermath, Pataki worked closely with then-Mayor Giuliani to coordinate the state’s response, making repeated visits to the smoldering pile where rescue workers searched for survivors and remains amid hazardous conditions that would later sicken thousands.
Pataki is expected to attend Friday’s remembrance ceremony at ground zero.